My fellow niner brethern, we have come accross this situation before, a high draft pick who did not produce in their first 3 years due to injury, attitude, etc......
There were talks of him being a bust, to trade him and all the above..... this man was vernon davis, who burst on the scene in year 4 with 78 catches for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns. Now we have young Crabtree who has been mired in the same way and is also entering his 4th year, I say he will have the same type of break out year. What say you?

Fook yeah! You already know bro! Crabs will have over a 1000 yards this year and I say at least 8 td's. He will be a lot faster and quicker too because I think he is still healing from that foot injury.

Well, he was our most productive receiever last year and 126 yards short of 1000 in 14 starts on the leagues 29th ranked passing offense. I think with more options around him his touches will likely go down, but he should have more room to run. I'm expecting a good year.

Originally posted by SonocoNinerFan:
Well, he was our most productive receiever last year and 126 yards short of 1000 in 14 starts on the leagues 29th ranked passing offense. I think with more options around him his touches will likely go down, but he should have more room to run. I'm expecting a good year.

Originally posted by lamontb:
I don't think anybody thinks he's a bust or terrible. He was just over drafted. Hopefully he really breaks out

This.

As for the Vernon comparison, it's a good one, but it's not without its flaws.

Vernon was a physical specimen and freak of nature, so his projection was sky high based on that alone. You kind of knew that if he got the right attitude and had a more functional offense, he could flourish.

Crabs's physical prowess leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the speed category. Vernon also didn't battle the injuries and miss the time in camp that Crabs did.

I was thrilled AFTER we drafted Crabtree, but with Davis I hoped, prayed and anticipated that the Niners would get him.

With all that being said, I do think he can improve, I just have readjusted my expectations based on what I've seen. When he was drafted, I thought he could be a top talent in the league, I no longer think that's feasible.

Hopefully with the added competition at WR and the fact that teams will have to account for Moss on the other side, Crabs will finally emerge.

Originally posted by 228niner:
My fellow niner brethern, we have come accross this situation before, a high draft pick who did not produce in their first 3 years due to injury, attitude, etc......
There were talks of him being a bust, to trade him and all the above..... this man was vernon davis, who burst on the scene in year 4 with 78 catches for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns. Now we have young Crabtree who has been mired in the same way and is also entering his 4th year, I say he will have the same type of break out year. What say you?

Crabtree's rookie year was exceptional considering the circumstances. And like a true NFL player, he improved on those stats while still dealing with some adversity. Then more adversity came along and he improved even more his 3rd year near the brink of top level WR.

I don't know about you, but he has proven that things do not need to be perfect around him for him to produce. He just needs a healthy offseason.

I agree with those saying Crabtree isn't a bust. He just hasn't been as good as his #10 selection. That said, I don't think he will have a huge breakout year. His numbers might get better, but with Manningham, Jenkins, Gore, Davis, Walker, James, Moss and Hunter around him, I can see Alex throwing the ball around to each of them. I think Vernon Davis has a great year tho. With the ability Jenkins/Moss has to stretch the field, it could open up some room for Davis.

Just glad Crabtree bothered to show up early to work with his team. He has his flashes of great hands mixed with the drops. He has shown to be able to get behind CBs at times... other times, he's blanketed. He needs to learn how to attack the ball and not just wait for it to arrive.

If he stays in camp and works on those deficiencies, then .

If he doesn't, then he will remain a decent # 2 yet unspectacular offensive weapon.

His choice, really. The ability is there... now let's see if the drive to be great matches up.

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